Reporting Abuse

[chevyv, BSN, RN]

I'm the only RN on my unit and work with 1 lpn and 3 cna's. One of my cna's told me at the end of the shift that another cna had admitted to pushing down a pt. Cna overheard me talking about an abrasion on the pts knee and that the pt told me this cna had pushed him down in the bathroom. This apparantly occurred a few days ago when I was off.

I work Psych and pt has a hx of stating these types of stories. The only difference is that I had a staff member tell me it was true and confirmed by the cna herself (not to me but in front of others). It was 4 minutes before clocking out. So, I called the supervisor who went ballistic, came up to the unit, took staff into rooms and was yelling. Finally confronted the cna, came out yelling at me that the nurse manager was aware of the entire situation and we all needed to stop. WTH! Am I missing something here or am I not, by law, obligated to report the claim? I feel horrible for starting a huge mess.

[Genista, BSN, RN]

Yes, it's your obligation to report it. In addition to notifying your supervisor,I hope you also reported and filed appropriate documentation to the proper authorities regarding this suspicious incident of abuse. You are mandated to report any suspected abuse or neglect to adult protective services or whomever you are supposed to file and report to. Your facility should have policy & procedure on this. The supervisor sounds like they were being very unprofessional in handling of this incident.Do not feel horrible for following your legal obligations. You didn't "start a huge mess." Do not feel bad about following appropriate legal procedure. Just make sure that you document and notify according to your local and facility policy and document your legal responsibilities- verbal notification of your manager may not be enough. In my state, we have strict policies on how to file paperwork and notification of appropriate agencies. Please check and make sure this was done, so the incident can be investigated per proper legal channels.

[chevyv, BSN, RN]

Thank you and I will look into who to report it to today. I think I can look at our Scope and Standards for more information. I do not want to follow up at work if its unnecessary especially seeing how it was handled. I can understand why some people are reluctant to report abuse if the tables get turned on them. Still feeling horrible for my pt and my staff who came to me hoping I could do something right.

[Genista, BSN, RN]

You did what you were supposed to do. Also wanted to add to check your board of registered nursing for abuse reporting requirements.Reporting requirements should be listed there also. You did the right thing, which isn't always easy. :redbeathe

[wearyLPN]

You did the right thing.

Your supervisor handled that most unprofessionally. There is no yelling required. She should have KNOWN about the incident and calmly told you on the phone that it had been handled. You could then have let your staff know and all would have been well. In my facility management must be aware of all issues like this. Someone needs some management training!

No suspension after pushing a patient, a push that resulted in injury? Hmmm.... That would not fly just anywhere.